The owner of a Des Plaines banquet hall hopes the absence of amplified music will be enough to keep the hall's controversial outdoor tent from coming down.

Months of debate over noise concerns from nearby neighbors culminated this summer with Des Plaines aldermen narrowly voting not to extend the permit for the 6,000-square-foot tent at Fountain Blue banquet hall, 2300 Mannheim Road.

But owner Tom Diamond is offering up a public apology and a revamped proposal calling for an end to amplified music, both in an attempt to keep neighbors happy and sway city officials to give the tent, called Lions Gate Pavilion, a second chance.

The proposal may still face opposition though, as neighbors and at least one city alderman said they doubt the lack of amplified music would solve the problem of excessive noise coming from the tent.

"We're back to the same story," said Bill Dillon, a neighbor who has led the charge in opposition to the tent. "They refuse to really solve the problem."

In a letter to the Des Plaines community, Diamond said the "ugliness" of the previous effort to renew the tent's conditional use permit left him "cynical."

"I began to focus more on winning a political fight than on accomplishing what is best for our shared community," Diamond wrote. "That was wrong and I am sorry."

Since first opening to weddings and other events in 2011, Lions Gate Pavilion became mired in controversy when neighbors near the tent said the sounds of blaring music and raucous wedding crowds eroded their quality of life, along with their property values.

Months of emotionally charged public meetings ensued.

For his part, Diamond said he spent upward of $50,000 on sound mitigation, including construction of a wall on one side of the pavilion and installation of a sound system with a maximum volume cap.

He also agreed to erect a 12-foot-tall sound absorption wall on two sides of the tent, which was a stipulation for an original permit extension that initially gained city approval in May.

But nearby residents maintained their pressure on city officials, saying the only true solution was to enclose the tent indoors.

They claimed Diamond skirted the permitting process by erecting the tent before receiving a permit, and that he opposed similar plans for an outdoor tent by a banquet hall near his home in Kildeer.

The following month, with pleas from couples with weddings scheduled in the tent, city officials agreed to let Fountain Blue hold those remaining events before taking the tent down.

The city did, however, let Diamond reapply for a permit before the last event on Nov. 9, said City Manager Michael Bartholomew.

The tent will remain standing, though not in use, until the new application is processed and a decision is made by the City Council, he said.

No date has been set for consideration of the new permit application.

Fountain Blue brought in a public relations firm and issued a public letter touting the banquet hall's contributions to the city.

"We want to make sure we do this the right way," said Fountain Blue spokesman Collin Corbett. "Fountain Blue and Tom Diamond really believe in the community. They invest in the community. I think that everyone benefits from Fountain Blue and their investment in the area."

The existing speaker system in Lions Gate Pavilion would only be used for speeches, Corbett said. Any music would come from non-amplified chamber instruments such as pianos and violins, which Corbett acknowledged may not be the ideal choice for some couples.

"It's certainly going to hurt business," he said. "But we need to keep that tent up because it's a huge draw."

The proposal still doesn't address "the crowd problem – the yelling, the chanting (and) the screaming," Dillon said.

Dillon insisted that enclosing the tent in a building is still the only viable solution – an opinion shared by the alderman of the ward.

"I've said all along that I think the long-term, permanent solution would be for Mr. Diamond to put his tent motif inside a building," said Ald. Jim Brookman, 5th.

Brookman made that suggestion during previous council meetings on the tent, saying he found a banquet hall in south suburban Alsip that had experienced success using a similar model.

The idea was rejected at the time by Diamond and some aldermen as being too expensive.

"I want Tom Diamond and Fountain Blue to succeed," Brookman said. "But I really think this is going to be an ongoing problem."